When kitting out a charter yacht, special considerations must be taken into account which do not apply when decorating a home. I met with Pete and Niki from Best Revenge 5, a Signature 60 Privilege catamaran, as they showed off some of Arawak’s boat-friendly accessories. I asked about the difference between selecting items for a boat versus a home, and the first thing Niki mentioned was the marine environment. “It has to be durable and cope in the elements—wind, salt, sun, rain,” she said and indicated that cushions covered in Sunbrella stand the test of the elements as well as something else I hadn’t considered. “The boat deck is a really ‘sunscreeny’ area—with people covered in it, especially here in the BVI where the sun is so strong, so you have to use materials that can cope with taking the sunscreen or products that can take constant washing.”

But the durable fabrics can’t save the accents from all the elements. Pete mentioned that guests sometimes don’t think to hold on to cushions, napkins and towels when a big gust of wind comes through. “One cushion blew off the boat at night near Cooper. Luckily, we found it on the beach the next morning,” he said. So it makes sense to buy items that can be tied or strapped down, or at least tell guests to help keep an eye on the lighter items.

The discussion about losing items overboard led to another important concern: buying more than enough of everything. “You have to buy glassware in bulk,” Niki said, “because if you do break one, you need to replace it to match the others or you end up replacing the whole set.” While it’s important to have backups, storage on a boat is precious, so she commented that it helps to have a reliable store on island where they consistently stock certain items and said that Arawak “can promise to replenish our matching sets, which is brilliant.” When considering storage, Niki stated that dual-purpose items are also useful.

Like decorating for the home, accessorizing a boat can also make a significant difference in the outward appearance of the interior and exterior spaces. Simple additions such as new cushions or fun bean bag chairs “instantly change the whole feel and atmosphere,” Niki said. “They make it feel fresh and keep in line with the marine look.”